books for later

This book is so beautiful. I have a new awe and appreciation for eggs after looking through this book! It's just a little bit beyond the level of interest for my 2yo, but it's definitely going into the must-own list for us. The format of the book is so great. Each page spread includes a gorgeous illustration and a little vignette about some aspect of fascinating things to know about eggs. Some of the pages talk about some of the interesting facts of a specific species, either what their eggs are like, or their nest, or how they behave with their eggs. But there are lots of other topics, like camouflage, eggs' significance in history and culture and mythology, and the unique structure/stability/strength of eggs' shapes.

Another amazing book from Britta Teckentrup. I didn't even realize how fascinating a topic this was until I flipped through this book. The format is the same as for "The Egg", but the diversity of approaches to the topic of feathers is even greater. It talks about how remarkable feathers are, their structure, how they grow. It talks about their various forms and colors and functions. It talks about many different style of wing. It talks about all kinds of unexpected ways feathers assist birds (such as the ones that surround owls' eyes helping them hear better). And it also includes a lot about the significance of feathers to human history and culture. There's a lot in this book. And it manages to bring a lot of depth while still keeping the text on each page spread surprisingly concise. These books are just wonderful. I suspect we will want to own every book by this author!

This book is a really fun and interesting way to think about what large numbers are involved in so many things, like the number of gallons of water in the ocean, the number of trees on earth, how far away (in miles) certain things are, and how many stars there are. It's such a cute and fun book, but it just happens to be a smidge beyond the comprehension of a 2yo, so we have to revisit this book later.

WOW. This book is truly a work of art. The illustrations are gorgeous, the limited color palette is cheerful and soft and feels just right. It's one of those books worth owning just for the artwork, but it also happens to summarize evolution for young children. This is one of those books we plan to own.

We've all seen those word-a-day calendars with lengthy words that you'll never use and are totally impractical. They're fun for a moment, but quickly forgotten. This is NOT like that. This book certainly has plenty of words *like* that, but even the words that are unlikely to become a regular part of the child's vocabulary--like "idolect", for instance--feel like words that add to a bigger picture of interest in the world, or add some tiny subconscious bits of building blocks for later etymological literacy. But honestly most of the words are useful words that are simply being introduced in this format to children younger than the age they are usually exposed. Which is a fabulous idea. And the book design is gorgeous. The definitions are wonderfully clear and concise, the kerning and fonts are lovely and playful without being obnoxiously cutesy. The illustrations are fun, and use a very particular style that keeps the whole book feeling light and approachable, with a limited color palette and blocky style that is again fun, but not too juvenile, so you don't feel like they're talking down to kids. This is almost nice enough to be a coffee table book for adults, but the vocabulary is just a little too familiar for that (I would say that I know about 40% of the words). One tiny flaw is there's no index or TOC, though it keeps the book tight, which is pleasing in its own way.